The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted today to approve recommendations on tuition, compensation and fees for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Tuition
The regents approved tuition increases of 3.5% for resident students and 2.3% for nonresident students during the board’s meeting April 11, 2025, at CU Denver. Those increases will be in effect for fall 2025, spring 2026, and summer 2026 semesters.
Student Fees
The regents approved inflationary increases for most mandatory student fees, and a 10% increase for the athletics fee to fund the rising cost of wages for game day officials and support staff, insurance for student athletes, and travel expenses. The regents also approved a new per semester private music lessons fee ($315 per semester), increase of $15 to student fees for the LAS/VAPA Music Fee (from $45 to $60 per semester), increase of $10 for the VAPA Program Fee (from $40 to $50 per semester), increase of $60 for the Visal Art program fee (from $40 to $100 per semester), increase of $100 for the chemistry lab fee (from $130 to $230 per semester), and an increase of $120 per semester for the digital film making course fee (from $30 to $150 per semester).
Compensation
In the area of compensation for classified staff, the regents approved a 2.5% across-the-board salary increase and step plan increases for qualifying individuals. For faculty and exempt professionals, a separate plan was approved. Officers are not eligible for compensation increases under the approved plan.
The compensation plan for non-classified campus employees was developed based on extensive consultation with cabinet and deans, shared governance leaders including faculty assembly and staff council, the university budget advisory committee (UBAC), and the compensation taskforce.
“This new compensation plan grew organically with extensive input from our campus stakeholders, university budget advisory committee, and chair of the faculty assembly budget committee” said Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Kathy Kaoudis. “It ties compensation for all faculty and university staff on campus to our shared responsibility for increased enrollment, whether from new students, from transfer students, or from retaining our existing students. Officers are excluded from compensation increases this year.”
This plan includes a 1.3% pool for compression, retention and adjustment pay included in FY 2025-26 budget. For annual salary increases, the plan includes a fixed dollar amount provision, contingent on meeting revenue thresholds $1.5 million in new tuition revenue above FY 2025-26 revenue estimates presented to the board at the April 11, 2025, meeting. Annual salary increases would include a $700 per eligible faculty member pool that the deans will distribute based on established shared governance and performance management processes in each college, and a $700 amount per eligible exempt university staff member. Officers are not eligible for annual salary increases this fiscal year.
Non-student hourly wages will increase effective July 1, 2025, from $16.22 per hour to $16.55 per hour. Student hourly wages will increase from $15.50 per hour to $15.89 per hour.
State Funding
At the state level, we are awaiting action from the Governor on the state’s long budget bill, expected to be signed in early May. The current version of the long bill includes a 2.5% operating increase for higher education statewide, a 2.5% increase for state funded financial aid, and a reduction by half ($1.4 million) for state funding for cybersecurity at UCCS. Including the reduction in state funding for cybersecurity, this represents a slight decrease in overall state funding for UCCS. It is important to note that state funding and tuition rate increases do not cover mandatory cost increases, planned compensation increases or service level expectations. Costs continue to increase at rates higher than projected revenues resulting in a budget shortfall and requiring budget cuts. In fiscal year 2024-25, direct state funding accounts for $51.6 million of UCCS’s $186.4 million general fund revenue, or 27.7%.
The full tuition, fees, and compensation presentations can be found here.